Johnson update

Unbelievable. This is exactly the kind of think I was worried about. If there's traffic, let the puck drop!

Not so silly now, is it quisp?

who misses Sean Avery?

watch this clip...

http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/#clip102027

good luck with this mess Dallas.

Not good. This is why depth at D matters. We're fine in the coming years, but it could get ugly very quickly this year.

Does anybody remember the play where Johnson got hurt? Did it look serious? Not that it matters, but I don't remember a big fall / hit...

That's a real downer. 'Tis a curse on all American, hockey-playing defensemen with the Johnson surname...At least he'll make it back at some point this season unlike the other Johnson.

Yeah, he got hurt on the play where Grier hit him when he was trying to catch the puck out of the air. It happened in the first period.

gotta be a shoulder, not an "upper extremity" per se, but what arm injury takes 3 months?

Wavesinair - What's not so silly?

Injuries are part of sports. I wouldn't worry about it too much. There isn't a team in the NHL that wouldn't be worse-off with their #1 defenseman out of the lineup. The others are just going to have to step it up.

You can look at it as a cataclysm if you want to. I look at it as an opportunity for the rest of the D. I see DL has already grabbed Quincey from Detroit. Good. I wanted him in the first place.

I love Jack Johnson and I am in no way "playing down" his injury. But I also don't see any reason to "play it up."

To say we didn't know this was coming would be a lie, but I didn't expect it so early. So who's next in line Hickey, Martinez? It got desperate quick, did it not?

@ jack handy

Three Words, Nov 11th (Stars @ Kings): Avery Doll Night

Does the Avery doll come with its own pins???

"Injuries are a part of sports."

I knew you'd say that. The point is, icing this young of a team was/is unnecessarily risky. You say it's silly to think it could lead to more injuries. But it lends itself to this kind of thing happening MORE SO than it does on a more experienced team. I'm talking averages here and the averages caught up to us in game 2!

I agree, it's not the end of the world and, yes, it is an opportunity for another player to step up. At this point, there is no other choice.

Let's just hope yet another young player isn't lost.

Duckhunter --

I really think "desperate" is an over-reaction. It's a long season; Johnson will come back and play half of it; the team will coalesce around Murray's system; the rest of the d will have to rise to the occasion; we get to see Kyle Quincey in a Kings uniform (which is a good thing).

Everyone is understandably worried about the Kings' youth at D. But I think we would all do well to keep in mind that, as good as Jack Johnson is, this is not a defense that's built around any one player. It's built around a system. I'm not saying Johnson's injury isn't a problem. It sucks. I'm pissed. But let's just wait and see how the team plays over the next few games.

Quisp, I love your optimism, your knowledge and your good nature, but I don't agree with you on this one. I would say it is desperate. That makes only one player from last year still present. Chemistry and familiarity are huge factors in success or even improvement. So now we have an 18 year old kid, carrying a load and handling pressure that should not be put on him in his first week of NHL experience. So who's going to carry or pass the puck out of our zone now. That part of our game has been beyond pathetic, so now what? Preissing? Another rookie Martinez? Hickey? I know you like the youth, but you have to give these guys a chance to win, a chance to be competitive and we are not doing that right know. When was the last time you saw Kopi show that much frustration and it's only the 2nd game. If you don't give the team a fighting chance, than bad things start happening, not only on the ice, but behind closed doors as well. IMO you can not have that much inexperience on the ice at one time, it's counter productive on many levels

My thoughts to your keyboard duckhunter.

I'm not really disagreeing with you. Certainly I see the same things you do. I just react to them slightly differently. I didn't see Kopitar's stick slamming incident (I was on the road and didn't see the game), so I can't speak to that, except to say I wouldn't read too much into it (sounds like a frustrating game, with the disallowed goals, etc.). Defensively, the Kings have done well these first two games, allowing for a certain amount of nerves. Once POS gets up to speed and the rookies get a few games under their belts, I expect we'll be seeing some pretty exciting hockey.

Quincy is not the answer. We've got tons of free-agent contract space. A little veteran skill could go a long way with these young guys. While Doughty is very impressive, the first line needs a defense pairing that can help them put the puck in the net. There are plenty of names out there and I think Lombardi needs to find one. 1 or 2 million a year ought to do it. Modry, Zhitnick, McClaren, hedican.
I like Greene and Stoll, but I really wish we had Lubo.
Grebeshkov has started really well for Edmonton, too. Bad move Taylor.